Sarah Breitweser

Stanford University School of Medicine Pathologists’ Assistant Sarah Breitweser feels that her career foundation started with Biology 101 at SBCC. “That class was amazing! Mainly I think because Bob Cummings made it so fun. I remember growing and racing slime molds, which was pretty cool. I am 100% sure that I would not be where I am today if it weren't for Bob.” Sarah currently works in surgical pathology assisting in the preparation of surgical specimen dissection, from biopsies to complete resections. She is also responsible for teaching Stanford University residents and rotating medical students the ins and outs of surgical specimen preparation. Previous to Stanford, she worked at Ameripath, San Antonio, where her duties included performing autopsies.

While at SBCC, Sarah was accepted by the three universities of her choice: Berkeley, UCLA, and UCSB. Ultimately, she transferred to UCSB and received her Bachelor of Science, Biological Sciences degree. “It was all very straightforward as far as the expectations and classes that transferred to UCSB. I remember the transfer counselors at SBCC being very accessible and knowledgeable.” In looking back at her choice to attend SBCC before UCSB, Sarah recalls, “I really liked how small the classes were...WAY better than when I went to UCSB. The teachers actually knew your name! SBCC was the closest thing to Hawaii that exists in nature, I think. I loved the beach location (I would go for a swim during long breaks between classes). Lots of interesting classes to choose from – very diverse. I liked that you could walk around campus in a matter of a few minutes. It was a very welcoming place for an 18 year old from Hawaii.”

From UCSB Sarah was accepted into the Pathologists’ Assistant program at Quinnipiac University - one of only six master's-level programs in the United States - where she received her Master of Health Sciences, Pathologists’ Assistant degree with distinction. Sarah is a Fellow of the American Association of Pathologists’ Assistants, and a member of the American Society of Clinical Pathology. She is also published in the journal Cytogenetics and Cell Genetics.